Them Crooked Vultures has one of the best supergroup pedigrees in recent memory. The Foo Fighters, Queens of The Stone Age and Led Zeppelin have come together for a summit of rock. The tidal wave of hype and press coverage for their debut album set the bar very high.
Fortunately, Them Crooked Vultures self-titled debut is very good. Supergroups can sound great on paper, but pedigrees are worthless if the musicians don’t have chemistry. Fortunately, Dave Grohl and Josh Homme have worked together before, and John Paul Jones is able to adapt to any musical situation.
The structure of Them Crooked Vultures recalls the power trios of the late-60s: Powerhouse drums, nimble bass lines and loud, sludgy guitar riffs. Dave Grohl’s drumming is the fuel that propels the music. There aren’t many fancy fills or complicated solos, just a solid backbone. Grohl’s style has strong Black Sabbath/Led Zeppelin overtones. John Paul Jones is right behind him. His melodic and complex bass lines provide a counterpoint to Grohl’s heavy simplicity. The rhythm section is the focal point of the band. Homme’s guitar provides another rhythmic layer rather. His riffs are short and punchy rather than long and drawn out. The guitar provides melody, but Them Crooked Vultures is really a percussive band. It’s all about the rhythm
“Scumbag Blues” is a great example of their sound. The band is in complete syncopation. Homme is playing the riff while Jones and Grohl follow along. Josh Homme sounds eerily like Cream’s Jack Bruce, which makes the ‘60s supergroup influence even more obvious. “Mind Eraser, No Chaser” is another standout track. The song’s simple structure is deceiving. The main melody is a basic blues riff, played with a wah-wah pedal to give it some spice. However, that’s just on one channel. On the speaker, there are quick bursts of soloing. Instead of Jack Bruce, Homme sounds like David Bowie on The Man Who Sold the World. He harmonizes with Grohl on the chorus, and their voices mesh beautifully.
Them Crooked Vultures would have been perfect as an EP or a shorter album. Since they are obviously following the Zeppelin model, they should have left a few tracks on the cutting room floor. “Interludes With Ludes” is only three and half minutes long, but meanders. “Warsaw” is a great song, but it would have been better if the blues part in the second half should have been a separate number.
Supergroup is thrown around too often these days. Them Crooked Vultures is a supergroup in every sense of the word. Even better, they actually live up to the hype. If they trim the excesses a bit, they have potential to be something more than another Dave Grohl side project.